Frank Iero and the Future Violence, Losing My Religion
UNFD

Frank Iero is punk-rock’s chameleon – he’s always shifting, always becoming something new, always building on what’s come before. His latest colour is just an incremental move away from his last (Future Violents to Future Violence), but it turns out that just two letters can pack a huge emotional punch. Led with a cover of R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion, FIATV’s upcoming EP Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place looks set to be Iero’s most darkly reflective release yet.

A haunting yet faithful take on the original, Losing My Religion sees Iero and bandmate Kayleigh Goldsworthy take centre stage to share vocals, weaving together roughness and silk to make for a performance that saturated with emotion. Together with the pared-back instrumental, LMR is an intense listening experience for sure – originally tracked on an iPhone in a stairwell by Iero and Goldsworthy, the momentary force of a shared passion between artists remains clear on the full recording, from a rainy Maida Vale.

Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place is an EP with more than a handful of chance-encounter magic – its very title comes from the name of a cocktail in a bar Iero visited before making Barriers, the band he’s assembled are a musical dream team forged in magnetic connection. All signs point to Heaven being an EP that HAD to be made, and with just four songs on the tracklist, (Violence, Sewer Wolf, Losing My Religion, and the aptly titled Record Ender), it promises to pack a punch maybe even more fierce than latest LP Barriers. Great things come in small packages, and Iero’s never been anything less than great.

Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place is out January 15th 2021.